Fantasy Football: Many following 49ers-Seahawks tonight

All respectable fantasy leagues have their Super Bowl this week, and every respectable fantasy columnist is participating in that event.

So yes, that means you should listen.

But then again, maybe not since I must admit some surprise that many of those final contests may not be decided until the late game tonight when the 49ers make their second straight Sunday Night Football appearance (even if we would rather forget the first one) when they travel to Seattle for a game that could be the difference in determining NFC West supremacy.

Expecting some greatness from the 49ers isn’t crazy. Their defense carried them to the NFC Championship game last year, even taking that contest to overtime against the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants (even if we would rather forget that as well).

It was a unit many fantasy owners targeted in this year’s draft, and many teams competing in the final today still may be attached to it. San Francisco is the second-ranked defense, after all, ranking third against the run, fifth against the pass, and first in scoring.

Who would have imagined that the Seahawks would be even more intriguing to fantasy owners in this final week, though? That even starts on the defensive side, where Seattle is the second-ranked scoring defense in the NFL, giving up only one more point than San Francisco over the season’s first 14 games. The Seahawks are only a tick behind their division rival overall, too, with the third-ranked defense in the league.

Where Seattle has been getting most of its recent attention, though, is on the scoreboard. In the last two weeks, it has whitewashed the Cardinals, 58-0, and spanked the Bills, 50-17.

It becomes much more difficult to lose when you own a player who scores three touchdowns, and that’s what running back Marshawn Lynch did to be the offensive star against Arizona, rushing for 128 yards, which doesn’t hurt either.

Lynch gave way to Robert Turbin early in the second half, and he also went over the century mark, rushing for 108 yards. Leon Washington even got in on the action, rushing for only 38 yards but reaching the end zone once.

Quarterback Russell Wilson didn’t contribute much to that blowout, mostly because he didn’t have to, completing just 7 of 13 passes for 148 yards, one touchdown and an interception before also getting some rest time on the bench. He was, however, the star against Buffalo, going 14 for 23 for 205 yards and a touchdown while rushing three times for 92 yards and three touchdowns.

Lynch only needed to put in part-time work again, rushing just 10 times but getting 113 yards and a touchdown.

With those recent escapades, it shouldn’t be surprising that the Seahawks are ranked third in the league in rushing at 160.7 yards per game. Lynch is second in the league with 1,379 yards.

To return to an earlier theme, the 49ers are right with Seattle, ranking second in the league at 162.9 yards a game, with lead back Frank Gore already well over the millennium mark at 1,118 yards.

This is a situation where something has to give. Last week, the 49ers defense did show some give with Tom Brady passing for 443 yards, but only one touchdown against two interceptions, and it took a career-high 65 passes to get there. Danny Woodhead even found some success on the ground with 12 rushes for 61 yards and a pair of scores.

The Seahawks have had little give recently, but their competition hasn’t been at the level they will face today.

At this point, a fantasy owner has to trust in the stars who got you to this position, so any Seahawks or 49ers you have been starting should continue in that role. It just means you’ll be staying up late tonight to see the outcome settled, which is just as it should be.

Can Houston stop Peterson?
Although the matchup doesn’t carry the same amount of luster, there are also playoff implications at stake when Minnesota travels to Houston for an early game today.

Houston has the fifth-ranked run defense in the league, giving up 93.2 yards per game, while the Vikings have the fourth-ranked rushing offense at 160.2 yards a game.

Most of that Vikings’ yardage has come via the legs of one man, Adrian Peterson, who as made a triumphant return from knee surgery to rush for 1,812 yards this season, outdistancing his nearest competition by more than 400 yards and positioning himself for a run at Eric Dickerson’s NFL-record 2,105 in 1984.

A.P. has been building up his historic season steadily (see chart). He had a fine first outing with two touchdowns and 84 rushing yards against Jacksonville. He didn’t score again over the next five games, though, and only surpassed 100 rushing yards (and barely at 102) once in that stretch.

Since then, though, Peterson has had eight straight games over 100 yards, including six over 150 and two over 200. He has scored nine touchdowns in that span, not reaching the end zone in only one contest.

With that type of streak, one has to bank on him continuing it today no matter the opposition. It also doesn’t hurt that Minnesota has no other good offensive weapons.

Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson has gone from preseason injury concern to putting together potentially the best NFL rushing season ever. His game log this year: